Given the intense focus on what’s next for John Tavares, the informal meeting kicked up some scuttlebutt in Dallas this weekend.

Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas and Tavares’ agent Pat Brisson were locked in an animated conversation at a Starbucks not far from the arena, where the draft was set to begin later that day. Officially, the conversation was about a potential new contract for Jake Gardiner, the Leafs defenceman who can become an unrestricted free agent in 2019.

Unofficially… well. No, I’m kidding. If Dubas and Brisson were chatting about Tavares before Sunday’s interview period opened up that would be tampering, and the NHL can’t have that.

So they talked about Gardiner, the latest discussion in an long line of Dubas-and-agent chats that have occurred with just about every Leaf who’s in line for an extension. The new GM has definitely been busy.